Embiid will have surgery after the swelling goes down, Brown said. The All-Star center also has a concussion; he suffered both injuries during an on-court collision with teammate Markelle Fultz on Wednesday night.

"After the swelling goes down and whenever the operation happens," Brown said, "we'll all have a better feeling of accurate news. Right now we don't have any information."

Brown said he had spoken with Embiid several times since the injury.

"The beauty of FaceTime," Brown said. "He's just disappointed. He's come through a lot. We need to help him -- the team. Buy some time, continue to play good basketball. We all talk about how much we need Joel from a basketball standpoint and this is true. He needs his team now."

Brown said Amir Johnson would start at center for the Sixers on Friday night against the Hawks.

"I don't feel the need to handcuff myself to anything really," Brown said. "I try to look at this as positively as I can. ... I really do see opportunities and this thing is one of them where you can try different things."

The Sixers have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, which begin April 14, but are fighting to maintain home-court advantage in the first round.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported that pending the outcome of the surgery, Embiid could be back in two to four weeks.

According to NBA Advanced Stats, Philadelphia has outscored opponents by 11.6 points per 100 possessions with Embiid in the lineup. When Embiid goes to the bench, the 76ers have been outscored by 3.9 points per 100 possessions.

"He has overcome so many things and was playing such good basketball," Brown said, "your immediate reaction is disappointment for him.

"It then goes quickly to the team. But we are excited to feel like something will uncover, something will unfold that we might not have seen otherwise and to buy some time to continue to win games to get a home-court advantage and to just buy some time for the return of Joel Embiid."